Chapter 16: Rage Kill

Regan spent the night stalking through the woods, huffing and scoffing under her breath while silently sulking. She had no desire to sleep, partly because she had taken a nap in some tree somewhere earlier in the day but mostly because she was too upset over losing Caius to another girl (and to the girl from District 12, of all people! She thought to herself).

"How dare her…" Regan fumed as she stomped through the woods. The image of Caius and Rosemary cuddled up by the fire together burned in her mind. "Who does she think she is?! Caius is my district partner and my ex-boyfriend. Who is she to think she can just swoop in and steal him from under my nose?! Grr! I'll show her…and I'll show him too! Then afterwards I'll win these Games…" The twigs and stones crunched underneath her feet in her fit of rage, when another sound reached her ears. Regan stopped when she heard a light pitter-patter in the grass, one besides her own. It was another pair of footsteps, and the realization of another tribute nearby instantly put Regan on the alert. Her anger subsided for the time being, she tip-toed through the woods, gliding on her feet and moving through the greenery gracefully and swiftly. With another sound of crunching twigs, she whirled around behind her, and there she found a weary, exhausted Oliver, stumbling around in the dark trying to find his way through the shrubbery his feet were currently entangled in. Regan smiled wickedly and eagerly readied her spear, before creeping over to where he lingered. Teehee…this is going to be fun… He never realized she was coming until he saw her face to face.

"Hello Oliver," she greeted him coldly, her devious grin clashing with her icy tone. "It's time."

"O-Oh! Uh…h-hi Regan…" Oliver stuttered nervously, gulping at the sight of Regan's fearsome countenance. "T-Time for what?" With a smooth flick of her wrist Regan impaled Oliver in the chest, removing her spear just as quickly as he collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

"Bye Oliver." Regan turned on her heel and sauntered off. Her lips curled upward and she let out an evil giggle as she left to find some water to clean her weapon. Oliver had been completely startled when she appeared before him, but now he looked like a deer in headlights as he was sprawled out across the ground, slowly bleeding out before eventually closing his eyes. Regan wished she had a pair of sunglasses to put on as she left the scene, because she truly took him out like a boss. It was a great away to relieve her anger, too. She was still angry with Caius for replacing her with another girl, and she was still planning on paying him back for it, but for right now she instantly felt better. She walked away with a smirk on her face while he lay there dying, until she heard the cannon boom.

The next morning, Naoko and Aeris were sitting by their little campfire, munching on a few berries they found in a bush behind their tent. They had just run out of food the previous night, and were now planning to spend the day searching for more to keep themselves replenished.

"So Naoko," Aeris asked, after swallowing a handful of fruit. "Do you think anyone else is going to find us yet?" Naoko pondered this thoughtfully, tapping her chin in thought while her mind started buzzing. Now that Aeris had mentioned it, she really did wonder about their next fight. When would it be and who would it be with?

"Maybe not right this second," Naoko answered, finishing off her berries. "But either today or tomorrow I wouldn't be surprised if we ran into anyone else."

"Hopefully not a Career," Aeris commented, shivering in both fear and from the cold. "I can't believe five out of six of them are still in the game." Aeris' eyes went wide and her body quivered as she remembered a nightmare she had a few nights ago where Lindsey Knucklesworth and Cyrus the brute bludgeoned her to death. She blinked a few times and shook her head as she tried to shake it off. Naoko was too deep in thought to notice Aeris' shaking, her eyes scanning the area they had to themselves.

"I guess that's why they're called Career tributes. They train for this stuff," Naoko replied. "But yeah, running into a non-Career again would be nice." The girls nodded in agreement, when they heard the sound of feet crunching against twigs and grass. "What was that?" The two youngsters listened for it again, and the sound grew louder as it came closer to them. They turned around as a silhouette appeared in the bushes, before someone emerged from them in clear view. It was Darien, the boy from District 8. As soon as they registered his presence and he noticed them, the three of them raised their weapons and entered their own battle stances.

"Let's get him!" Aeris said, when they heard more crunching. "Huh?" Two more pairs of footsteps were heading their way, and the three of them stopped to look around to find who it was. Aeris watched as Darien retreated back where he came from when they saw Diamond and Silver charge through their campsite. Before the girls had a chance to attack, Diamond and Silver hurled their axes at them, Diamond's landing in Aeris' chest and Silver's in Naoko's stomach.

"You lose, suckers! Haha!" Silver taunted them, him and his sister laughing to themselves as they collected their weapons and ran off. Darien had disappeared into another section of the woods, leaving the two young tributes lying on the ground with their big gaping wounds. Naoko cringed in pain as she turned to Aeris, her blood now spilling out to the side.

"Well, Aeris my friend…" the District 11 girl croaked, her body tensed up in pain. "I…I guess this is it for us."

"Y-Yeah…" Aeris replied weakly, curled up in the same position. "It's over…" Feebly the girls crawled an inch closer to each other, when Naoko shakily reached out her hand. Aeris mimicked the gesture and the girls gripped each other's hands, holding on for the dear life that was slipping away from both of them. This was the closest embrace they had, as they were in too much agony to pull each other into any kind of hug, much to both of their sad dismay.

"Aeris…" Naoko said to her ally. "You were the best friend and ally ever. Thanks." Aeris nodded and mumbled a "You too", while a stray tear fell from her eye. Naoko shook her head, refusing to cry. After all, her mother and younger siblings were watching back home.

"I would never have made it this far without you," Aeris spoke up, her voice strained due to the agony of her wound. "I…owe you…"

"And I…you…" Naoko trailed, now losing her own voice. Naoko watched as Aeris' eyes closed while her body collapsed completely, nestled next to her own. Their arms were still linked, though the grip they had on each other's hands gradually lightened. "Goodbye Aeris…best friend…" Naoko forced a weak smile as her own eyes began to close. They fluttered half-open, half-closed, giving Naoko one last look at her ally and friend, before they eventually closed as well.

A giant boom echoed throughout the arena as two cannons fired simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Rosemary was sound asleep, napping away under a large tree while Caius was out hunting for more food. She was deep in slumber, having finally drifted off into a dreamless sleep after Caius had left minutes ago. She was dead to the world, unable to hear either the sound of quiet footsteps creeping into her and Caius' makeshift camp or the evil cackling of the intruder.

"Well, well," Regan mused aloud, the District 2 female staring down at the sleeping tribute with a glint of mischief in her eye. She looked around for Caius to see if he was coming, but he was nowhere in sight. He was far from camp, leaving Rosemary hanging out by herself, waiting for his return. Regan watched Rosemary's chest rise and fall with each breath she took in as she slept, the sight of the District 12 female aggravating her more with each passing second. Rosemary remained asleep as Regan raised her spear, and still didn't stir when Regan plunged the spear into Rosemary's chest. The moment the sharp point entered her flesh Rosemary's eyes flashed open, mixed with a triad of shock, fear, and pain while she was rendered speechless, too terrified to make any kind of sound. Regan smirked to herself while Rosemary's blue eyes only closed again seconds later. Regan let out a low, dark chuckle as she retracted her weapon from Rosemary's dead body. The cannon that fired then was music to her ears.

"You just lost the Games."